Saturday, October 31, 2009

Home Safety Tips

By Pierre Levingston

The safety of your home and family is very important. You can protect your home, family, and possessions with some easy, basic home improvements. Here are some suggestions of how to improve your home's safety.

Install new locks and bolts to your doors and windows of your house. Many older locks can be weak and need to be replaced. Be certain that all windows have locks on them and all doors leading to an outside entrance have dead bolts.

Trim all hedges that may get in the way of you seeing the area around your home properly. None of your windows or doors should have anything in front of them to block your line of sight. Make certain that all entrances and exits can be seen clearly.

Install motion or heat-sensing flood lights in your front or back yards. This will get rid of shadows where burglars can hide. You can also choose to put lights on timers so that they switch on and off at regular times.

If you are away from home for a while remember to have your home look as if its still being occupied. Ask a trusted neighbor or friend to collect your mail and newspapers while you are gone. Park your car in the driveway to give your place a lived in appearance, or ask your neighbor to park their car there while you are away.

Install a self-charging smoke detector. These alarms recharge themselves every time a light is turned on, so you won't have to worry about replacing a dead battery. Keep a fire extinguisher handy, and make certain that everyone in the home knows where it is and how to use it.

Join your neighborhood watch, or start one yourself. It is 100% free. Sometimes a neighborhood watch sign can be enough to convince a prowler to find another area.

There are a lot of other precautions you can do to protect your home. Some other good ideas include installing a professional security system in your home and replacing flimsy outside doors with more sturdy ones. And don't forget to update your homeowners insurance, just in case something unexpected happens.

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